Hordijk, Michaela

Participatory budgeting in Villa El Salvador

Villa el Salvador, Southern Lima, is a poor district of roughly 300,000 inhabitants. It is famous for its tradition of 'self-management' by the population. This article describes the history of the district and its urban development plans and includes a speech given by the Mayor of Villa El Salvador, Martin Pumar, in 1999. In it he shares his vision of leadership, the urban development plan and the place of participatory budgeting within that.